We’re currently hiring for a hard-to-fill position.
I reached out to a good friend to see if he was interested, and to my surprise, he said he was going to apply.
It was unlikely given he is currently employed, less than a year in at his current company, with decent compensation and a good work environment.
He applied to the position, and sadly, got a rejection letter almost immediately.
No explanation, no feedback, no courtesy initial phone screen, nothing.
This would be the end of the story in most situations, but he reached out to give me an update and told me about the rejection.
Here is where networking pays off.
I reached out directly to the recruiter and mentioned that for such a difficult spot to fill, In the current competitive market, getting my friend to apply was unexpected, and that it was surprising not to have him go through at least an initial phone screen.
The recruiter mentioned they would look into it and update me soon.
A couple of days passed, and I heard back from the recruiter.
They had made a mistake and had declined my friend’s application while going through candidates.
They offered to reach back out to schedule a screening call if I thought it was ideal…I said yes!
A few days have passed since, and today, I got an update from my friend.
He received an email from the recruiter apologizing for the mistake, and they held a screening call.
Later, the first interview with our VP of engineering happened, and he is now scheduled for follow-up discussions.
I am happy for my friend and excited that he is moving along in our hiring process, but this would not be the case if he did not know someone already working at the company.
Networking paid off! Reach out to your ex coworkers, keep in touch, and remember that sometimes a quick conversation can be a powerful tool.
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